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DMing with Stats
Stats Portal Should I use this for my event? Right at its heart, this system is just a different tool to achieve the same result: fun. Any number of variations to this system could be equally effective. Some things to keep the same, though: #Player stats. Don't make us re-spec to another sort of stat unless you really have to. #Difficulty. No two enemies, even of the same species, are alike.There should still be consistency. #As much as possible. Even the smallest change, or the slightest mis-interpretation of a rule, can drastically change the difficulty, making mobs hit like trucks, tickle like wet noodles, or fall apart like tissue paper. This is so that we have a tangible sense of challenge, that doesn't shoot up and down at random '''where we should '''expect it to remain the same. Things it can do, but not as well: #Large events. When 15+ people are emoting, trying to respond to "attempt ''+ ''roll" emotes on multiple objectives can be overwhelming. Times like that can be achieved by saying the threshold in advance, and letting players emote their own success or failure to the raid. #Trinkets, special powers, and other stat sticks. Players wanting to achieve a special effect will have to talk to you in advance so that you don't need to improvise roll rules for them. If they don't, you'll need to think fast to make it fair, or politely refuse them so the RP stays good. Deux ex machina doesn't need a reason to be declined. #Conversation. There is no charisma stat. This system is for events with minimal dialogue, which a DM can resolve based on the character's actions and words, and perhaps their un-statted luck. #Pets. Two options for handling pets is to let the owner treat the pet as an extension of their character, and express their stats accordingly. Or to give the pet its own stats and require 2 emotes per turn from the owner. Stats and Rolls Roll Requirements As usual, feats have a % chance of failing, expressed using the roll requirement. The higher the requirement, the more difficult the feat. Some things are impossible by definition, and other things are possible, but with a significantly lower success rate than the dice can reflect. As the DM, your word takes precedence over the rolls. Always remember that 20s, 100s, 69s, or any "special" roll, still exist within what's doable on Azeroth. Monster Stats This a funny way of saying "roll over ''x to hit''." Actually that's one of the stats: Roll to Hit: This reflects how hard it is to deal damage to this monster. You can break it down into armor and defence for stealth events, or leave it as roll to hit to keep the battle simple. Armor: This is the enemy's passive resistance to damage; it's how hard they are to hurt when they're blissfully unaware of your presence. Defence: When the enemy tries to protect themselves, they get harder to hurt. Defence is how much harder. Health: So, your players beat the monster's roll requirement. How much punishment will it take before the monster dies? Some monsters are extremely skilled at blocking or magical shielding, but passing these exposes a fragile, diminutive body with low health and high roll to hit. Some monsters care little for defence, lugging around enormous health pools that the players can hack at freely. Attack: But monsters hit back. This stat should represent how much harm the players have to avoid. Bigger attacks are generally harder to avoid, and also inflict more damage should you fail to avoid them. The Attack stat varies a lot - if you're being attacked from multiple sides at once, it "stacks up," and you have to beat the sum of the attack stats. Getting surrounded is extremely punishing, forcing players to think tactically. While standard foot-soldiers only need one unchanging Attack stat, enemies are more interesting if they use attacks of different strengths, with different targeting ability. The difference between a caster and a boss can be as simple as the boss's spells affecting twice as many people, but with the same Attack stat as the casters'. Other Roll Requirements It's always always up to you. Athletic feats use Dexterity, usually requiring a roll above (never including) 8. Having a rope or other security stops you falling to your death even if you fail the roll. Construction can be a test of Knowledge, if the character's knowledge is relevant (don't let a bookwormish mage know how to cook just because they can conjure). Carrying objects alone is usually a test of strength, but remember Strength isn't literal - use your discretion. Turn-by-turn guide Phases. Attack. Almost all player actions should take place here. Let the players know what they’re facing, how many of what are where, and so on. Don’t necessarily tell them the exact stats of the mob, unless they truly need to know. A better effect is is had if you describe them qualitatively and let your /rws tell the story. As the emotes come in, you need to read them, and in all likelihood pencil in some notes. It's startling how much praise you receive for "keeping track of so much" simply for keeping a tally on each mob's health. When the players have all emoted and you've decided on the outcome, feed it back to them. Make sure to justify the more unusual rolls. Then announce the defence phase. Defence. The only act a player should take here is to emote how the enemy attacks affect them. This phase is all you. Let people know what they need to beat, best if you name them directly. Feel free to punish successful attack turns, or lightly armored players. Phases, but TL;DR Players attack, DM reacts; Monsters attack, Players react. Repeat. Merging these two phases can be done - players have to consider their stats, though. Movement. Movement is the deadliest weapon in the player’s arsenal. If there’s a chance they might try to move around, remind them how far they can go in a turn (40yd in most cases). Moving around in combat is permitted, but if it's a tactically significant amount it should take away your opportunity to attack in the same turn. Out of combat, movement can be more-or-less free, depending on focused you want the group to be. But be on the ball to catch players who take off too far. If long-distance travelling is a strategically valuable action, you can set a larger limit - raid markers have a 100yd range, for example. Spells tend to cap at 40yds. For fun and tension you can apply loose movement-limits in the downtime between combats too. Stealth This system has stealth built into it from the ground up. Armor and Defence exist as separate stats in order to distinguish different levels of monster alertness. Movement regulations are essential for stealth. It's a far more engaging thing to DM than regular combat. To DM a stealth event, you must, effectively, roleplay for the entire enemy group. Plan not for the story, but for the arrangement of obstacles including monsters. Because the best stealth events incorporate a hefty amount of players' planning. Most importantly... Keep It Simple, Stupid! Chances are you're familiar with the concept of emote-and-reply, maybe even having DM'd for your own group. You know what you're interested in doing; what story you're hoping to tell; what tone you're striving for. Use whatever you want and whatever you can to provide the kind of roleplay that interests you. Because at the end of the day, the worst thing the players can do is leave. Stats Portal